SmartBin

· Earth

Waste management is a main global challenge. According to Bunrith Seng*, Phnom Penh is now one of the largest waste-producing cities in Asia with 1.3 kg of waste produced per capita per day. This « score » is one of the highest in Asia… Tokyo (1,08 kg), Hanoï (1 kg), Singapour (0,96 kg) and Beijing (0,85 kg)*. The article explains that the most telling element is the very rapid evolution of the amount of waste. Even if recycling is not the best solution, it is one of the most efficient for now. The best would be to reduce the waste consumption. For this, it is essential to raise awareness about waste management.

How to encourage people to recycle? Four students have decided to tackle the problem and created SmartBin. Smart Bin will offer E-cash in exchange of waste where users can use the e-cash in purchase at its cooperator store. The SmartBin collects recycling waste as plastic bottles or cans. It has different compartments, each compartment is for a type of waste. Thanks to the several sensors, SmartBin can detect the type of waste. If people put its trash in the wrong bin, an educational message is provided. Their business model is based on 3 points. The first one is the resale of recyclable trash. Then, SmartBin get back a % on every transaction through « BinPay ». Finally, advertising video ads on the Bin's LCD will provide to SmartBin an additional income. They also want to develop a service to optimise the way of trash collectors.

It is the second IoT (Internet of Things) project that we met since the beginning of our trip 3 months ago. We are convinced that technology can help facing this challenge. Loïc and me have a background in IoT and it is always a pleasure to meet young entrepreneurs who want to face big challenges by using technology. Now, the SmartBin team needs support to place their SmartBin in strategic points in the city (airport, mall, market…) and they are also looking for more cooperators to use « BIN Pay » service.